Probation Decisions

Pretrial Decisions

At the pretrial level, probation officers evaluate defendants for release on bail or pretrial supervision, which allows them to remain free while their case is pending. The evaluation process focuses on defendants' risk of flight and their likelihood of continuing their criminal activity. Probation officers collect information on a variety of factors that are related to offenders' ties to the community and their propensity to continue their criminal activity. Officers use interviewing techniques and data collection forms as the basis for their judgments. They must decide whether to recommend pretrial release and, if so, whether to [Page 622]recommend a bail amount or conditions of pretrial supervision, including curfews, home confinement, and drug testing. They also must decide what constitutes an infraction or violation of those conditions and how to respond to the infraction—for example, asking the judge to issue a warrant for a person's arrest and ordering that the person be detained in jail until the case is heard in court.

Presentence Decisions

When the case proceeds to the trial or plea bargaining stage, probation officers help judges render sentences through presentence investigation (PSI) reports. Judges order presentence investigations, mostly in felony cases, to obtain background information that will guide them in imposing the most appropriate sanction. In particular, PSIs assist judges in ascertaining whether prison is an appropriate sentence in light of the crime and the offender's criminal and social history. Information in a PSI places the offense in a larger context that informs the judge in determining whether probation is a sufficiently punitive and fitting alternative to incarceration.

To obtain information for PSIs, probation officers interview offenders; review their criminal, educational, and military records; and contact family members and others who know important details about the offender's life. The PSI report presents the judge with the offender's comprehensive social, criminological, and psychological profile. The report covers the offender's history of treatment for medical, psychiatric, and substance use disorders as well as the circumstances of the offense. In addition, it covers his or her social and family relationships, present living conditions, and financial and housing status.

The PSI report also describes the resources available to help people who might be sentenced to probation and contains specific sentencing recommendations, if requested by the court or required by the statute. A probation officer can present his or her opinions regarding the offender's motivation and readiness to change and the circumstances surrounding the offender's criminal involvement. The PSI formulates an appropriate supervision or treatment plan, and if the person is sentenced to prison, it helps prison administrators decide whether the person should be placed in a minimum-, medium-, or maximum-security facility. Probation officers exercise discretion when conducting a PSI, deciding what questions to ask, how to ask the questions, what details to include in or exclude from the report, and whether the offender will be better served by probation or imprisonment.

...